Donald Trump has ramped up his rhetoric against North Korea by warning rival leader Kim Jong-un he "will regret it fast" if he continues his threats to US territories and allies.

Trump issued the threat directly at Kim, who is also known for his bellicose rhetoric, and all but drew a red line that would trigger swift US action.

"If he utters one threat in the form of an overt threat - which by the way he has been uttering for years and his family has been uttering for years - or he does anything with respect to Guam or any place else that's an American territory or an American ally, he will truly regret it and he will regret it fast.

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The words followed an early morning tweet in which Trump declared the US military is "locked and loaded" if the isolated rogue nation acts "unwisely".

The president wrote: “Military solutions are now fully in place, locked and loaded, should North Korea act unwisely.

“Hopefully, Kim Jong-un will find another path!”

Trump’s initial warning from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, came after China’s state-owned newspaper the Global Times said Beijing would intervene if the US attacks North Korea first to ­“overthrow” it but would “stay neutral” if Kim launches the initial assault .

Tensions have been escalating between the US and North Korea in recent days.

Pyongyang has warned it plans to launch a nuclear strike on the US territory of Guam after Trump announced threats against the US would be met with “fire and fury”.

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Criticism from other world leaders only served to fire Trump up further. The president said: “If anything, maybe that statement wasn’t tough enough.”

When asked what could be tougher than “fire and fury like the world has never seen”, Trump responded: “We’ll see.”

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He would not comment on whether he is considering a ­pre-emptive strike.

He said: “The people of this country should be very ­comfortable, and I’ll tell you this – if North Korea does anything in terms of even thinking about attack, of anybody that we love or we represent or our allies or us, they should be very nervous. Because things will happen to them like they never thought possible.”

The standoff between the two nations has unsettled regional allies, who are scrambling to defuse tensions.